14-day drive Boston to LA
Replies: 4 - Last Post: Feb 19, 2013 7:14 PM Last Post By: bzookaj
jump to
14-day drive Boston to LA
Hi everyone! I have been reading forums and other resources for reference on our planned 14 days roadtrip from Boston to LA on first week of March, and still Im on the process of making an estimate of how this trip might look like. I know all the information I need is available if I just keep researching, but I'm hoping somebody could give me a specific advice on the route that i'm planning to take. We love doing roadtrips, we did coastal New England and some Easten part of Canada.My wife and I are moving from Boston to Hawaii and we need to be there on March 21 for work. Our plan, send all our stuff thru' USPS, and drive our car to East Coast and we have 14 days for the roadtrip. We plan to drive 4-5hrs per day. We will go through Delaware Coast (bypass Skyline drive since it's winter?), to South carolina and Georgia (my wife wants to see Georgia). Then to New Orleans, to Hpuston (need to visit cousin). From there is where I'm having lots of confusion. We want to see Grand Canyon, meteor crater, Bryce canyon, Arches, maybe see Las Vegas and Hoover Dam, then to San Fran and maybe redwoods and definitely the Pacific Highway and LA. The thingg that I need help the most is.. I can ship the car and fly from LA or Oakland depending which route would i take. My wife and I wants to maximize our time to see those beautiful landscapes and places since we might not be able to this roadtrip again in the future. We wont be doing hikings, but we can do short ones. We wont do reservations for accommodations, we would love doing the famous tourist spots since we dont have much time, my wife and i loves good inexpensive restaurants. We would love to see Mt Rushmore but its too far of a deviation from our route. We chose the Southern way because of the weather, and have some friends to visit along the way and maybe stay with them overnight.
Any comment or suggestion on this would be very much appreciated.
1
Does you wife want to see Savannah or Atlanta ? With the lomited time you have...You had best jump on the 95 and quickly, make the miles to Georgia.... You then can drive the I-10, with stops, to Tucson & North to Flagstaff, Meteor Carter & Grand Canyon, South Rim. If the weather is good, continue on the 89 to Bryce and then visiting Zion NP. into Las Vegas... You have not the time for the drive to the Moab area for the Parks there... The most efficient use of the time left to you ,before shipping the car, Would be Vegas-LA-San Francisco, via the 101/1, weather & road conditions permitting... I assume you know how much time it will take at whatever port, to prepare the car for shipping... carracar2
You will not be able to see all you list in 14 days.It take roughly five days simply to cross the country in a reasonable manner (eight-hour driving days).
I suggest taking the shortest route.
It'll allow you some time in Chicago and the southwestern parks.
Heading via SC and GA will add roughly a day to a day and a half to your trip, simply in drive time.
3
This trip can be done, but it will involve some mammoth driving days. And, it will be with the understand that: 1) much of what you will see will be from the window of a car; 2) there simply won't be enough time to do more than scratch the surface at each location (if that); and 3) it will be a grueling journey.With those caveats, many will say that the trip simply is not worth it. I will leave that for you to decide. I think these types of road trips can be very rewarding. But, it's not a beach vacation. You must get up early to hit the road, keep breakfast and lunch quick and often rush around your destinations trying to see in a few hours what many see in a few days. But, that does not mean its a waste of time. After all, as you quickly drive up PCH from LA to SF without stopping, you may only see the coast from your car, but you are still seeing it.
To make it work you must get out early (before 9am), and plan on either doing a drive through for breakfast, grabbing some yogurts from liquer store, or doing a quick bagel stop, and eat in the car. For lunch on the road, don't plan on sitting down. Again, you grab a sandwich and eat on the road. For dinner, you will have the opportunity to check out local places. But, this type of trip is not about the food.
Here is my suggested itinerary (drive times provided by googlemaps):
Day 1: Boston to Delaware (6.5 hours), spend late afternoon sightseeing.
Day 2: Delaware to Charleston, SC (9.5 hours), get dinner and walk around
Day 3: Morning in Charleston, drive coast to Savannah, GA (3 hours) and afternoon in Savannah
Day 4: Savannah to New Orleans (via Macon, GA, and rural GA) 10.5 hours, dinner in NOLA
Day 5: Morning and lunch in NOLA, drive to Houston, TX for dinner and family time (5 hours)
Day 6: Morning with family, Houston to Amarillo, TX (9 hours)
Day 7: Amarillo to Moab, UT and Arches NP (10 hours)
Day 8: Morning in Arches NP, drive to Bryce Canyon (on scenic HWY 24, 5.5 hours)
Day 9: Morning in Bryce Canyon NP, afternoon drive to Grand Canyon NP (north rim, 3.5 hours)
Day 10: Morning in Grand Canyon NP, late afternoon drive to Zion NP (3 hours)
Day 11: Morning in Zion NP, late afternoon drive to Las Vegas (3 hours)
Day 12: Morning in Las Vegas, leave at lunchtime for Los Angeles (4.5 hours), dinner in LA
Day 13: Morning in Los Angeles, leave for Monterey, CA via PCH/101 (7 hours)
Day 14: Morning in Monterey, leave for San Francisco/Oakland (2 hours)
This is an absolute marathon that will leave you exhausted. There won't be any sleeping in, and there will be a lot of quick meals and quick sightseeing. But, you will see a heck of a lot of country. If this is your last opportunity to see the US mainland, you will be going out with a bang.
